What soap/cream did you use today?

I think everyone here knows my love of a hard puck of soap.  I also have not been shy of an affection for DR Harris scents and Arlington is almost as good as Windsor.  It’s bright, I dig it.  I’ve heard since the day I arrived at the forums that hard pucks need a stiff brush.  I vehemently deny there is any truth to this theory and regularly tackle hard pucks with soft silver tips or floppy synthetics with no apparent drop in performance and maybe even a slight gain.  This Maseto brush is a case in point.  I picked it up from Nero on one of his super soap garage sales and although the knot is smaller than I like, it opens so,wide as to act like a bigger brush.  Floppy?  Well maybe not floppy like a L’Occiatane first Gen synthetic, but don’t expect it to back you’re play with its stiff backbone.  Butter soft on the face it seems more than capable of gathering soap for a lather and it sure did!  Slick and cushioning and so nice to sniff?  Arlington, I thank you!  I might add that I don’t use hard soaps like others I’ve read.  I dump the puck into my hand and load there.  Then I rub the puck and tailings from loading on my cheeks, rinse the puck in the sink and set on a towel to dry.  I wet my hands and work the soap in my beard, then take the brush to it, build a lather and shave away.  The result is very slick.  I also keep my wooden bowls pristine and I’m weird enough for that to matter.

Amazingly those Maseto brushes were the last badgers I held onto (had sold all my others and the Masetos stayed for a while longer).

Grooming Dept Mallard Almond Vanilla

Grooming Dept Mallard Almond Vanilla

GD Almond Vanilla is so nice

PAA Ciderhouse Five CK-6

I think everyone here knows my love of a hard puck of soap.  I also have not been shy of an affection for DR Harris scents and Arlington is almost as good as Windsor.  It’s bright, I dig it.  I’ve heard since the day I arrived at the forums that hard pucks need a stiff brush.  I vehemently deny there is any truth to this theory and regularly tackle hard pucks with soft silver tips or floppy synthetics with no apparent drop in performance and maybe even a slight gain.  This Maseto brush is a case in point.  I picked it up from Nero on one of his super soap garage sales and although the knot is smaller than I like, it opens so,wide as to act like a bigger brush.  Floppy?  Well maybe not floppy like a L’Occiatane first Gen synthetic, but don’t expect it to back you’re play with its stiff backbone.  Butter soft on the face it seems more than capable of gathering soap for a lather and it sure did!  Slick and cushioning and so nice to sniff?  Arlington, I thank you!  I might add that I don’t use hard soaps like others I’ve read.  I dump the puck into my hand and load there.  Then I rub the puck and tailings from loading on my cheeks, rinse the puck in the sink and set on a towel to dry.  I wet my hands and work the soap in my beard, then take the brush to it, build a lather and shave away.  The result is very slick.  I also keep my wooden bowls pristine and I’m weird enough for that to matter.

Right on

Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

Tabacco Blu (Abbate y La Mantia) frozen mango
Shave 1 ・ 78 g left

PRESENTATION Like all of Abbate y La Mantia’s products, Tabacco Blu looks very nice. The aluminum tub that houses the puck is tidy, and the label shows the careful thought of the graphic designer. However, this travel-sized puck is only 3¼ inches wide, so it’s best to pair it with a smaller brush.

SCENT When I want to clear my stuffy head fast, this is the soap I reach for. Abbate y La Mantia has loaded it with a healthy dose of pungent synthetic menthol that’s so strong it overwhelms all the other notes in the fragrance. That’s a pity since there are supposed to be some intriguing scents in here such as tobacco, eucalyptus, cyclamen, and ocean breezes. But, alas, they’re lost in a chilling blizzard of menthol. Once the ice melts, though, an unexpected whiff of mango wells up from the deep and leaves my brush smelling sweet.

LATHER This is a very hard soap that does well with a good bloom before lathering. The Marco method with a stiff boar brush proved very effective. The resulting fine-grained lather was much thicker, slicker, and shinier than Wednesday’s shave with Bergamotto di Calabria, even though these two soaps have similar ingredients. Now that I’ve found my way to a plush lather, I may have to revisit Bergamotto.

THE UPSHOT This is my second tin of Tabacco Blu. I piffed the first after a few subpar shaves, but as soon as it left my den I starting thinking about trying it again. I’m glad I did. Today’s shave was a pleasure. My joy stemmed from reviving Marco’s extra juicy method for making a lather. So far this has been the best way, by far, for coaxing a thick and lasting emulsion from Abbate y La Mantia’s hard soaps. This time I think I’ll have to hang on to this frosty tub.
____________
Razor Edwin Jagger DES89RC Kelvin ・ Blade Gillette Platinum ・ Brush Semogue 1250 ・ Hoard 17,928 g (⇣21,091 g)

Fougère Friday

So Bouki-Master recently reminded of the urban legend that 6 passes with the brush over a puck of MdC results in a copious amount of lather.

Tested....... And true. I did just that and did a 4 pass shave with enough left to do the back of my neck.

Wonderful value, lather, scent, presentation, and simple ingredients. I have found myself shaving with some flavor of MdC at least once a week for quite some time now. These pucks are on their face expensive , but the metric of cost per shave may be the best in the biz.

Finished with Floris 89 AFS & EDP.

CU ALL TOMORROW

Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

Squadron Shave Soap - Sweetheart